5.6.3 转类法 Conversion
Conversion is a term used in the study of word formation to refer to the derivational process whereby an item comes to belong to a new word class without the addition of an affix.
转类法是研究构词法的一个术语，指的是一个词在没有附加词缀的情况下达成属于一个新的词类的派生过程。
The conversion process is particularly productive in modern English,with new uses occurring frequently.
这种转类过程在现代英语中尤其有效，新用法频繁出现。
Conversion is also known as functional shift or zero derivation。
转类法也被称为 功能转移 或者 零派生。
Like derivation and compounding, it is a very productive process of wordformation for modern English, in which a word of one part of speech is shifted into a word of another part of speech without using any affix.
就像派生法和复合法一样，在现代英语中，它是一个非常多产的构词过程，即，一个词性的单词 在不使用任何词缀的情况下 转换为 另一个词性的单词。
With this process of word formation,we can use words more efficiently in our communication.
通过这种构词的过程，在我们的交流中，我们可以更有效地使用词汇。
Conversion can be summarized in Table 5.8.
转类法 总结在表5.8.
Sometimes the same form can be used for three or more functions.
有时同一个形式 可以被用作三个或更多的功能。
For example, the word last can be used as a noun,a verb,an adjective or an adverb as is shown in the following examples:
例如，last这个词可以用作名词、动词、形容词或副词，如下所示：
（1）He is the last one to leave.(adjective)
（2）The film lasted two hours. (intransitive verb)
（3）The food can only last us three days. (transitive verb)
（4）Who laughs last,laughs best. (adverb)
（5）The last to leave the room should remember to turn off the light.(noun)
And in the following sentences,the same word is used several times with different parts of speech:
在下面的句子中，同一个单词在不同的词性中被多次使用：
（6）Don"t trouble（vt.） trouble（n.） until trouble（n.） troubles（n.） you.勿庸人自扰。
（7）But（vt.） me no buts（n.）.别总对我说但是但是的。
Some people distinguish between full conversion and partial conversion -
有些人区分 完全转换 和 部分转换
the latter being cases where only some of the characteristics of the new word class are adopted(e. g. the rich).
后一种情况是只采用了新词类的一些特征(e. g. the rich).
